CEO of Grand Theft Auto Publisher Slams AI Hype in Gaming Industry

Somebody has to say it.

Grand Theft Automation

Because the gaming trade is besieged by cruel layoffs and threats to employment like stilted AI-generated voice acting, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive — the writer of huge titles together with Grand Theft Auto — Strauss Zelnick says he isn’t fairly satisfied about AI. 

“When it comes to AI, the interactive leisure enterprise has been into AI without end,” Zelnick mentioned in a brand new interview with CNBC. “Let me simply remind you, AI stands for ‘synthetic intelligence,’ which is an oxymoron, there is no such thing as a such factor.”

Zelnick’s remarks, whereas framed in a circumspect approach, come as chilly water at a second when many C-suites are all-in on AI hype — and due to Take-Two’s huge stature within the house, different execs simply could be paying consideration.

Asset Class

Video games have lengthy used rudimentary AI for sensible issues, like programming non-playable characters to seek out and assault the participant (albeit usually with mixed results.)

However the introduction of generative AI over the previous few years has given recreation studios new instruments to create in-game belongings like graphics and fashions utilizing tech like OpenAI’s DALL-E or Recraft. On its face AI is only a new toolset, however it might additionally end in sloppy finished products and dissent among workers who really feel the tech is pushing them out of the trade.

Zelnick, nevertheless, advised to CNBC that Take-Two will stay real looking about AI’s limitations.

“I might like to say that [AI is] going to make issues cheaper, faster, higher, or simpler to make hits,” he says. “I do not assume that is the case.”

However the place he landed was a well-known line for tech execs: that as a substitute of changing human creatives, AI will finally simply free them as much as work on extra attention-grabbing stuff.

“What [AI] means is that our inventive individuals will have the ability to do fewer mundane duties and switch their consideration to the actually inventive duties,” Zelnick continued. “The machines cannot make the inventive choices for you.” 

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